


All the stupid things

by Sylvestia



Series: Chronological Order [40]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Pain, Whump, cheesy stuff, i have no clue why this took so long, poolnoodles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22917250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvestia/pseuds/Sylvestia
Summary: Even after everything, Nines is still recovering and not well.The technician has an idea. Gavin could have hated it more than he did.Set in between chapter 2 and 3 of Friends don't do like that. After "Frustration".
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Chronological Order [40]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1123848
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	All the stupid things

**Author's Note:**

> This fricking oneshot took WEEKS to write.
> 
> Weeks. literal weeks. I dunno what's wrong with me but writing is so hard for me at the moment.  
> But here. here it is. yay  
> This is ... choppy at best. Not my best work but feedback is appreciated anyway :D

It wasn’t the same when he unlocked the front door. There was no cat to greet him and no eleven-year-old girl to tell him that he looked like shit.

It may have been the better choice to let Emma stay with a friend for as long as he was busy with Cory and the aftermath of everything. The android still had trouble moving or keeping his balance.

The cat was staying with Tina for the time being, although she kept complaining about ‘the little monster’.

Gavin shouldered the front door open, hands busy with carrying plastic bags and guiding Cory into the apartment. 

The android hadn’t spoken a word since they had left the facility, and he was still silent when Gavin closed the front door and dropped the bags to the floor. He kept his silence until Gavin had helped him into the living room.

No one had entered this apartment in a week, unless Tina had made use of her key and got the cat food. But Gavin didn’t bother to look. 

Cory was looking at him with a mix of curiosity and something undefinable. Then his gaze wandered to the empty cat-tree.

“She’s with Tina.” The detective muttered, kicked off his shoes and stretched. “I need a fucking shower.”

A small scoff escaped the android, the first real reaction to anything Gavin had said in the past thirty minutes. 

“What, you’re lucky you don’t stink.”

“You could have used the shower rooms in the facility.” Cory remarked as he slowly lowered himself into the couch cushions.

He was trying to hide it, but Gavin saw the clenched teeth, noticed the breath he held until he had fully settled down.

“With your record of suddenly going from fine to almost dead within seconds?” Gavin snarled. “No thanks.”

The android managed a small shrug, immediately followed by a barely notable wince and a small grunt.

“Are you sure I can leave you alone for ten minutes?” Gavin asked.

Cory sank deeper into the cushions and closed his eyes. “Of course.”

“I’m serious.”

“As am I. Go shower Gavin you reek.”

The detective lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t seem to bother you until now.”

“It still doesn’t, but other people might find it unsettling.”

Gavin crossed his arms. “I wasn’t planning on leaving.”

“You have to, the fridge is empty.”

The human shook his head. “Delivery.”

“That only sustains you for tonight.”

“I’ve lived off instant food for weeks in a row.”

Cory cracked one eye open. “When you were a teenager. Your metabolism isn’t the same anymore.”

“Did you just call me fat?”

“I only stated the facts. You may have gained a little weight.”

“Well tough shit, asshole, I was the one sitting at your side for a week and eating shitty pastries.”

The android closed his eye again and smiled. “You didn’t have to.”

“That’s not how this works, Cory.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but you didn’t have to neglect your own needs for me.”

Gavin heaved a heavy sigh and headed for the hallway. “You know, humans do that. They worry. And you almost died.”

He really hoped Cory would never again do something like this, but they both knew it was wishful thinking. Eventually there would be a thing that would rip them apart. 

It was a given in their line of work.

“...Need anything?”

A humorless smile made its way to Cory’s face. “Painkillers…”

Gavin snorted. “I’d give them to you, but if _they_ didn’t want to try that, I’d rather not.”

“I know.” Cory muttered into the cushion. “Humans would call this _getting desperate_ , wouldn't they?”

“Yeah.” Gavin sighed. “Cindy said something about warm baths…”

“This is so much more trouble than it’s worth.” Cory continued. “You don’t have a bathtub.”

“…I’ll make sure my next apartment has one.” Gavin scoffed and headed to the bedroom to get a fresh change of clothes.

As he entered the bathroom he yelled into the hallway, “And by the way, I’d sit with you for as long as I have to if this ever happens again!”

From the living room came the muffled, “I hope it doesn't.”

And Gavin shut the door with a chuckle.

Still, the thought of losing Cory someday was one that even banter and the scalding hot shower couldn’t chase away. The fear that had settled in his chest the instant he had seen Cory jump over the rail and nearly drop to his death was a constant ever since.

Although, realistically, it would be Cory who’d have to mourn him some day, but that was another thought he didn’t like to get into. 

Things should have just stayed this way.

It almost felt peaceful when he toweled himself dry and dressed. He didn’t bother with the hair, who was going to see him like this besides cory anyway?

He had opened the door to the pizza delivery in worse states.

Cory had turned to his side when Gavin returned to the living room, eyes pressed shut, fisting his shirt and jaw clenched. Every sharp exhale was accompanied with a low grunt of pain into the couch cushions.

It sent shivers down the human’s spine. He hated this. He didn’t want to see his partner like this. Cory didn’t deserve this.

“Pain?” Gavin asked and crouched down in front of the couch. 

While they had tried to find a solution for the issue, there was only so much they could experiment with. And so, the android had to deal with waves of absolute agony. As Cindy had put it.

Gavin was sure anyone else would be screaming at this point, but Cory had never said a word, never complained and never told Gavin about it. The fact that his façade was cracking now, spoke volumes.

Cory was reaching his breaking point.

He had to do something. Grabbing his phone from the coffee table he flipped through his contacts until he found Cindy.

The phone didn’t finish its ring before the woman picked up. “Thought so.” Was the first thing she said. “Been waiting for that call. What’s going on?”

Gavin scoffed as he settled down next to Cory and placed a hand on his back. “He’s still in pain.”

The woman sighed. “Yeah thought so. Bad enough that you called me, I take it.”

“Is there _anything_ I can do?”

There was a short silence on the other end, then another sigh. “You know that public pool by the precinct?”

“Yeah.”

“Pack some swim clothes for you and Cory and meet me there.”

“What-“ Gavin protested, but the woman had already hung up. Growling he turned to Cory who was still tensed up and unmoving, except for the forced breathing.

“She wants us to get to the pool.”

“…Why…?”

“Probably because I don’t have a bathtub.”

Cory exhaled with a sound that was a mix between a grunt and a whine, and then shook his head. “Overkill.”

Gavin snarled. “Fuck this. Let’s go, if anything happens, we’re at least with the techie.”

When Gavin carried Cory out of the auto-cab thirty minutes later, Cindy was already waiting for them. She had a gym bag with her and seemed in a surprisingly good mood.

She wasn’t even waiting for a greeting before she gestured for Gavin to follow her.

The building was strangely empty for the time of day, and even the reception wasn’t occupied.

“Rented out the place for today.” Cindy explained as if she had heard Gavin’s thoughts and led them through the building.

“…You rich or something?” Gavin scoffed.

Cindy only grinned at him and fell into step with him. Her eyes were on Cory for a moment before she gazed at the old tiles and paint that made up the pathway to the changing rooms.

“Shit I haven’t been here for like a decade.” Gavin sighed. “Nothing’s changed.”

“They added a heated pool on the second floor, which is where we are going.”

“You’re discriminating against my nonexistent bathtub.” Gavin complained in mock annoyance.

The woman lifted an eyebrow at him. “I just hated the idea of Cory still being in pain you can’t even begin to understand.”

Gavin sighed. He knew that. He hoped he would never understand the kind of pain Cory was enduring, but the way his partner’s face was scrunched up, spoke volumes. Cory was done. And this pain needed to stop.

Now.

Together they carefully tugged the clothes off the android. It did require both of them so they wouldn’t jostle him too hard. Cory was silent through all of it, yet unable to hold in a pained grunt or two when Gavin was too rough.

The detective apologized silently as Cindy pulled a tank top over him. Gavin didn’t understand the point, technically they could’ve all gone skinny dipping, now that no one was here except for them, but he understood that the woman wasn’t very keen on seeing either of them undressed.

Couldn’t blame her. Gavin knew he wasn’t much to look at anyway. Not that it mattered. He had been with a few women, but none of that ever lasted.

Once all of them had changed Gavin picked Cory up again, this time the android managed to move an arm around his shoulders and sink his fingers violently into the fabric of Gavin’s shirt.

The human was relieved that Cory showed some sort of lucidity now. It was getting eerie, hearing and seeing nothing of him for so long.

Cindy guided them through the building and up a staircase, into a huge tiled pool room. It looked old. Art Deco, if Gavin could trust his memory on art styles. Not that it mattered. Cindy didn’t have any eyes for it either and just gestured to the steps leading into the steaming water.

“How do we do this?” Gavin asked, suddenly unsure.

“Now you go on there with him and stay there. I’ll be back in a second.” With that Cindy left and Gavin did as told.

If he didn’t know it better, he would have thought Cory was terrified of the water, the way he tensed when the warm liquid started seeping into the clothes he was wearing. Gavin held on to him when he stepped into the actual pool and did a few steps.

It was strange. He had never really thought about taking Cory to a pool. Certainly not under these circumstances.

Cindy returned with an armful of pool noodles and the detective scoffed at her. “the hell is that supposed to be?”

“You’ll see.” The woman sighed and threw the pool noodles into the water. Three of them floated in close proximity and Cindy lowered herself into the water.

Once she had reached the two men, she pulled a hair tie from her wrist and put her curled hair into a rather precarious bun. Then she grabbed two pool noodles and walked over to them.

She shoved one of them under Cory’s knees and told Gavin to let go. “What we gonna leave him floating around just like that?” Gavin asked.

He didn’t like that idea.

Cory had this talent to get into a shitton of trouble when he took his eyes off of him for a second.

“We’re staying with him of course. Idiot.” Cindy laughed and wedged another noodle under Cory’s back. She moved his arms into position and told him to put his head onto the water.

Now almost fully submerged, but still floating the warm water was supposed to take full effect. Gavin watched the whole thing with rising suspicion, but he couldn’t deny that cory already looked a lot more relaxed than he had just minutes ago.

“See? It’s working. “I’ll get some towels.” Cindy smirked and climbed out of the pool again.

Gavin nodded, watched her leave and moved towards Cory’s head. The android looked up at him, now calm and collected, but the LED was still yellow. The detective assumed it would stay like that for a while.

“What?” Cory whispered after a moment. Gavin hadn’t even realized that he was staring.

“Just thinking.”

The android scoffed silently. “You shouldn’t do that.”

“Fuck you.”

Cory slowly raised one shaking arm, but quickly realized that the motion made the pool noodle contraption rather unstable, and let his arm drop again. Gavin sighed, gripped the neon green foam roll and held it in position, while Cory repeated the motions, this time with both arms.

They were trembling violently, but he fought against the discomfort and succeeded.

Gavin wasn’t quite sure what he had been expecting when Cory’s hands found his face and pulled his head closer until their lips touched.

Gavin would have loved to run his hands over his partners face, but the position they were in didn’t allow that.

Instead, he savored the taste of Cory’s mouth. He had gotten used to it. It wasn’t anything like a human, but it was _Cory_. And that was all that mattered.

A small giggle made Gavin look up. He didn’t move, other than raise his gaze a bit, right into Cindy’s smartphone. He gave her an annoyed grunt, but ignored her. Nothing could take this from him. Only if Cory had enough of it.

But the android seemed to have other things in mind.

“Thought you might want that framed. It’s cute.”

Gavin adjusted his hands under cory and raised one arm out of the water to flip her off. The woman only laughed, dropped the towels onto the tiles and slipped back into the water. She approached the two and pushed against the makeshift pool floatie they had made form the pool noodles. Gavin took a few steps backwards until he stumbled against a step. It was high enough to sit on, given that the water level wasn’t that high to begin with.

But he had to break the kiss.

Cory seemed annoyed, but then Cindy got behind him, where Gavin had been seconds prior and dug her thumbs into the artificial muscles of his neck.

His pained grunt made Gavin wince.

“I didn’t take you two here to create the worlds cheesiest soap opera.” The woman muttered.

Gavin snarled. “Then what are you doing?”

“Loosening all the tension. He’s been cramped up so hard that there’s no chance for the pain to subside.”

“That can happen to androids?” Gavin frowned.

“You’re looking at it.”

“How did you know this was going to help?”

Cindy shrugged, let go off Cory and pushed him closer to Gavin. Almost automatic he recreated the movements she had done.

“Sometimes you just gotta experiment.”

Gavin shook his head, watched her as she gently took one of Cory’s arms and dug her fingers into the tense artificial muscles. “It’ll be worth that pain, trust me.” She promised with a smile.

“I’m glad you rented this place” Gavin muttered after a moment. “This is the corniest shit I have ever taken part in.”

Cindy laughed. “I can leave, if that makes your ego feel better. But I’m doing this for Cory. Not for you.”

“I get it, I get it.” Gavin hissed. “Just… stop talking.” The detective turned his gaze away form the woman, but she noticed his flushed cheeks and the disgruntled expression.

“Ahhh.” She smirked and leaned in to Cory to whisper into his ear, “I think I found out what gets him off.”

Cory smiled at her for a moment, before he moved his gaze in Gavin’s general direction. “I believe we should not mention that.”

Cindy smiled. “Okay. But that’s blackmail material.”

“If you use this, I’m gonna murder you.” Gavin growled at her. “I know places where no one will ever find you.”

The woman laughed loudly and held up her hands in defense. “I’m just kidding. Jesus, you’re so touchy.”

“Can’t you just be like a normal techie?”

Cindy lifted an eyebrow, “What with a stick up my ass and treating androids like things? No thanks.”

“Fine… just… shut up for five minutes.”

Cindy sighed, shook her head and moved on Cory’s other side to continue with his right arm. “But only five.”

“Starting now!”


End file.
